'One in a million' tragedy sees brother die months after sister's diagnosis

A sister has been left heartbroken after her brother suddenly collapsed and died from a brain tumour just months after her own diagnosis.

Gemma Adam, 34, spent years struggling to manage debilitating headaches and hemiplegic migraines before being diagnosed with a large brain tumour. After a stand-in GPwas quick to recognise that her symptoms had shifted, Gemma was referred for an MRI at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital.

The results came back six days after her scan to reveal that she had a sizeable 21 mm low-grade pituitary tumour that had destroyed her pituitary gland and was continuing to press on her optic nerve. At the time of her diagnosis, her brother, Andrew Adam, was extremely concerned, along with the rest of her family.

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She told Glasgow Live: "I have had hemiplegic migraines since I was a child, but in the last few years they became so much worse. I could be bedbound for up to 11 days at a time, and I kept going back to the doctors and the hospital because I knew these headaches were different from my normal migraines.

"When the MRI showed a large tumour pressing on my optic nerve, I was stunned. I was frightened about losing my sight and about the damage it had already done to my hormones, but I was determined to do whatever it would take to get better.

"I’m now waiting for my next MRI, which I hope will lead to surgery. Andrew was incredibly worried about me after my diagnosis – he would often ask our mum and dad if I was going to be all right, whether I would get the operation, and if it would fix me. He was always checking on me like any big brother would.”

Just six months after her diagnosis, in a shocking turn of events, heartbreak hit the family when Gemma's brother Andrew, aged 39, collapsed at home on November 4, 2024. Both she and her dad, Drew, tried to save him by performing CPR as advised by paramedics on the phone, but sadly Andrew could not be revived.

His post-mortem results revealed that Andrew had an undiagnosed glioblastoma – an incurable brain tumour. The family then learnt the unbelievable news that the chance of both siblings having a brain tumour diagnosis was one in a million.

According to Brain Tumour Research, brain tumours have the ability to affect anyone of any age and kill more children and adults under 40 than any cancer. In Andrew's case, the family were in "total shock", as Gemma described him to be "healthy, active, and never showed any signs that could have been a symptom."

She said: “Andrew was the kindest, most loving man you could ever meet. He had autism, so our family was everything to him, as we supported him throughout his life. He didn’t have children of his own, so my children, Karris and Riley, were his world.

“He had been out shopping with my mum, Linda, and Karris the day before, laughing and picking out Christmas presents, completely fine. Then the next morning, he said he felt sick and collapsed trying to take a drink of water. We tried everything, but by the time the ambulance crew arrived, it was too late."

Now keen to make a difference and help others suffering with a brain tumour, Gemma's 12-year-old son Riley is raising money in memory of his Uncle Andy. He plans to take part in the Zip the Clyde challenge this weekend, August 23, raising cash for Brain Tumour Research.

The challenge will see him zipline 100 feet above the River Clyde at the Riverside Museum, which just happens to be one of Andrew's favourite spots, all while wearing a T-shirt with a photo of his uncle on it. So far, Riley has raised an impressive £695 and aims to raise even more for the Scottish Brain Tumour Research Centre of Excellence in their game-changing collaboration with Brain Tumour Research and Beatson Cancer Charity.

"Riley and Andrew had a bond like no other," Gemma shared. "Andrew treated my kids as if they were his own. He would take Riley to the Transport Museum all the time because they both loved the trains, boats and cars there. When Riley saw the zipline fundraiser for Brain Tumour Research, he immediately said, ‘Mum, I want to do that for Uncle Andrew.’

“Doing this has given Riley something positive to focus on while dealing with his grief. It is also our way of keeping Andrew’s memory alive while helping to fund vital research, so other families do not have to go through what we have.”

Community development manager at Brain Tumour Research, Ashley McWilliams, said: “Gemma’s story shows just how cruel brain tumours can be. Losing her brother so suddenly, while facing her own diagnosis, is unimaginable. We are incredibly moved by Riley’s fundraising in Andrew’s memory and deeply grateful to the whole family for their strength and support," Glasgow Live reports.

The centre focuses on researching treatments for glioblastoma, the same disease that Andrew unexpectedly lost his life to last year. You can support Adam's family in the fundraising efforts online here.